Unseen Realities ~ Edmund x Reader Hogwarts AU

Simply... Cast Them Away

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"What do you mean he's dead?!" I demanded, spitting out my pumpkin juice.

Ryn set her piece of toast down, for once not excited about a new piece of gossip. Her hair was a mess and her eyes had dark circles beneath them, not to mention she wouldn't stop fidgeting with her hands. "Just that, he's dead. Kaput. Gone. They found his body in the forest last night. We've been told to keep it all hush-hush but the news is spreading like wildfire."

"Why would they want us to keep quiet?" Cho asked worriedly, "Surely this is a safety violation."

"Of course it is, but the Minister has instructed us to not make a big deal out of it."

"No one knows why?"

She shook her head and cast her eyes down to her pancakes, looking at them without really looking at them. I was sure the news of Crouch's death was making her paranoid, but I believed I had more reason to be. Surely this was no accident. Barty Crouch was murdered.

I excused myself from the table and stood up, looking across the Great Hall to Lucy where I met a pair of panicked eyes. I nodded my head to the door, making sure she understood before looking at Edmund. He was already standing and making his way down the Slytherin table and towards the doors.

"What is going on?" Lucy hissed, running a hand through her hair as we walked out of the doors and into the courtyard. "Philip said that Crouch was found dead last night."

"The Slytherin table is going crazy about it," Edmund added, "No one knows exactly what happened."

"It had to have been Moody," I frowned, sitting down at the edge of the courtyard and wringing my hands. "He must've seen us talking to him."

"So it's because of us that Crouch is dead?" Lucy panicked, taking a step back. "All because we tried to tell someone who could actually do something. What if anyone we tell in the future gets murdered too?"

Our worst fears had come to life and we were nowhere near prepared to face them. The reality set in that we couldn't tell anyone anymore. If the man impersonating Moody was powerful enough to subdue the real Moody and kill Barty Crouch, there is no telling what else he could do. We couldn't risk anyone's safety.

"What about Dumbledore?" Edmund offered hopefully, "He's recognized as the most powerful wizard alive. Surely he wouldn't be in danger if we tell him."

I sighed, letting my head fall into my hands. Telling Dumbledore seemed to be the only way our situation could improve. But what if we lost him too? Then we really wouldn't stand a chance.

"Let's do it,"

---

It was a miracle that Ed knew how to get to the headmaster's office. He wouldn't explain how he knew, but his knowledge proved useful as I never would have guessed that the entrance to Dumbledore's office was a griffin statue. Or so Ed said.

Our robes billowed behind us as we sped down the third-floor corridors. We passed barely anyone as we walked as most of them were still eating breakfast. The paintings silently watched us run as if they knew what was happening.

"This way," Edmund called, swinging around a corner that led to an alcove in the wall. "This is it."

"How do we get in?" Lucy questioned, peeking behind the griffin statue.

"Sherbert lemon," Edmund grinned.

Before I could question him, the griffin statue leapt aside, revealing a slowly ascending spiral staircase. I gaped at the stone stairs as they rose, reaching a circular hole in the ceiling before stopping.